Vei
The mystical Vei are, along with their Hael children, the only Citizen Species that had no counterparts in Belenus whatsoever before recorded history. All Vei in Belenus can trace their ancestry to the 120 boats that fled from Iyn with Imperial Princess Yu'na over 3,000 years ago. They live extremely long lives and turn to stone when they finally pass on. It is believed that their life force comes from Void Maey and that the infertility and shorter life spans in Belenus versus Yu'eh comes from their separation from the Void. It is speculated that they came from another dimension, though this has yet to be proven. Anatomy and Morphology The varience for looks between genders of Vei are actually quite low, with females and males both adopting what Sunlings would call an "androgynous" look. The females have a slightly curvier and rounder frame, but not by much. Both genders have lean, long limbs and grow to be around 175-180cm tall in height - rarely are Vei found any shorter or taller. Both genders like to wear their hair long and styled, though males tend to adopt a simpler ponytail to the female preference of braids. Their skin color ranges from a reddish purple to dark obsidian black. Their hair color, in stark contrast to their skin, is always silver gray - though it's often been fashionable to dye it other colors. They have long, prominently pointed ears and almond-shaped eyes in shades of gold, and are adept at hearing slight sounds and seeing in the dark. In fact, they generally choose to be nocturnal, and have complained that direct sunlight tends to make them feel sleepy. They survive off of very little food, needing to eat but once every other day to maintain their health (though, by tradition, their meals are exquisite). They tend to have cool temperment and generally talk in slow, soft tones. It is incredibly rare that you will hear a Vei raise his or her voice. Life Cycle Vei females only come into estrus for one year for every 60, which happens to be the same year for every single Vei. Thus, every 60 years, the birth of new Vei babies is called The Blooming of the Vei and (at least back in Iyn and during The First Epoch is a momentous and celebrated occasion. In fact, because of this, time during The First Epoch was actually measured by Blooms - for instance, a Sunling of the first epoch might mention "I was born in Year 34 of the 6th Bloom," which would place their year of birth at 381 years after Legacy Rock. Each pregnancy produces a set of twins. A Vei female will remain pregnant for the first trimester (roughly 6 months) but, in a spiriting ceremony, summon the babies from her body to grow in a prepared "crib" (usually in the shape of the lotus) for the rest of their cycle. They hatch after another six months, after which they are already considered 1. Vei children grow at a steady pace until they are around 25, where they encounter their Adolescence stage. Their growth then speeds for the next five years before slowing again. They are first able to mate at 60. The actual lifespan of a Vei is unknown and has varied greatly since they arrived in Belenus. Imperial Princess Yu'na was birthed by her mother, the Empress W'Sine'yu of the House of O'Sine, during W'Sine'yu's 12th Blooming and she seemed to be in perfect health when 61 years later when Yu'na left, which would make her at least 780 years old. However, the only Vei recorded to have lived at least that long are The Triplets of Jin'meinn (the last one passed away at 980). Most "die" at around the 500 year mark or earlier. It was later proven that a connection to The Rift is the answer to Vei longevity. Vei health feeds of off Void mana, which is present in the normal atmosphere but much more abundant in The Rift. As the life force leaves a Vei, a curious thing happens: they begin to solidify into a crystal-like stone. In fact, while Vei do not wrinkle, they do grow patches of stone on their body as they grow older. The patches connect and, should the Vei have died of natural causes, turn them into a statue of sorts when they are fully gone. History & Demographics Though historians are still trying to piece together where the Vei came from based off of recent archeological excusions and The First Settlers' writings, it's well known that their culture had already been flourishing for thousands of years on Iyn before Imperial Princess Yu'na fled with 13 boats carrying around 1200, including 502 Vei. Throughout The First Epoch, the ruled the "civilized world" as the Kingdom of O'Sine. At their peak, they numbered around 100,000 across the land. However, rapidly declining fertility and several devastating civil wars halved their population during the Second and Third Epochs. The first Census taken in the Modern Era found that only 13,127 Vei remained in Belenus. They mostly live on Tanrel Island and the mainland cities of Port of Nine and Castle Misha (these locations are considered Orsine) Language The Vei use two languages - High Vei and the Common Tongue High Vei is a logographic language in which each picture denotes a specific meaning. Their spoken language consists of only 1200 syllables, but each syllable is attached to 12 possible tones. Additionally, several words could be attached to one syllable-tone combination, which then requires the listener to know the context of a sentence before being able to understand its true meaning. Because of the complexity and subtlety of the spoken language, very few in Belenus have been able to learn it. Some people feel the Vei's mastery of High Vei helps the Maeyster arts come easier to them - in fact, a lot of spells seem to be focused by certain logographics and spoken tones. The Common Tongue was adapted from High Vei, which removed many of the tones and put more syllables in each word in order to sort through context. Conversations in Common Language tend to take more time and more words, which some Vei have remarked upon as being a most peculiar irony, since those who take the most time conveying their meaning seem to have the least time to actually exist on the world. Still, the Common Language has become the main language adopted in Belenus. Demographic Subsets Coming from a very hierarchical society, despite their low numbers, the Vei still divide themselves into two classes: * Sine (seen): Named after the Kingdom of O'Sine, these are Vei who can trace their lineage to a member of the Three Major or Five Minor houses. Most of the seats in the Vei Council in Orsine, and many of the high teacher positions at The Academy are occupied by Sine, who are considered to have the potential for Maeyster powers beyond any other creature on Maeykka. There were 182 Sine at the first census of the Modern Era. * Men: Vei not from the royal lines and who cannot claim connection to it. The bulk of Vei who came on the ships of the First Settlers were El'men - usually servants of the Great Houses and their connections, who wanted to build a new life in (what would become) a slightly less rigid heirarchy. Lifestyle & Culture Institutions Political Structure For more on Vei Politicians, See: Vei Politics The Vei have always run on an Imperial feudal system in which the Emperor is head of the entire kingdom. The Great Houses then contribute members to a Privy Council. Inheritence is usually determined by choosing one of the last leader's newest bloom. After the dissolution of the Kingdom of O'sine, the Vei fell into various dispersed clans around Belenus. But the Twelve Heir War forced them together again to protect themselves and their children.Now, the Vei Council, presided over by a Grand Mother and Great Father of all Vei (who function in a chairman role), rule the three Vei cities and 13 Vei clans (12 actual clan, and one made up of Orphans) that make up Orsine. Family Structure The Vei family structure is usually matrilineal, with Vei children belonging to whatever family group their mother belongs to. They live in extended family groups, connected by sisters and mothers, until the end of their lifespans. Usually, a Vei group will consist of one Grand Mother (not to be confused with grandmother, as many ages and generations can overlap through a Vei's lifetime) - picked from the oldest Blooms of the group. The Grand Mother controls the finances of the family and represents them in gatherings. Larger families will also have a Family Council, comprised of all the other members of that year's Bloom, that helps the Grand Mother with family affairs. Sons can choose to stay as part of their birth family or, should they find another family that wants to accept them, join that one. The only exception to this structure was the House of O'Sine, which began keeping track of male heirs when Yu'eh and his council created the throne. This was a highly controversial move at the time, as it seemed to be influenced by the more patriarichal Sunling culture. However, it lasted through the Kingdom of O'Sine and even influences Vei families to this day. Many houses in the Modern Era have a Great Father, a male second-in-command to the Grand Mother. In some houses where the Grand Mother has died out, the Great Father will take over rather than elect a new Grand Mother from a later Bloom. Religion To learn more about the deities, See: The Nine. The Vei religion is known as The Nine, or Worship of The Nine, which refers to the Nine Deities in Vei culture. It corresponds to the five elemental Maey, the three higher Maey and the one two-headed mother-father: W’Fa W’Ten. Structurally, each Vei family will align itself with a specific elemental Maey, and that will count as their House Deity. Individual Vei then subscribe to a temple of a higher Maey – Dian’li of the Mentalists, Gu’shing of the Summoners or Sh’Wu of the Changelings. At the height of the Kingdom of O’sine, almost all major cities across Belenus had temples to these three. In the Modern Era, only the Port of Nine and Misha do –other cities with small Vei populations tend to build a small house temple to one of the three. As Creator of everything, worship of W’Fa W’Ten was done in consortium with the other deities. However, in the late O’sine period, after the Rift openings, Emperor Jin’rai established his own house dedicated specifically and only to W’Fa W’Ten. There is only one temple to W’Fa W’Ten on Belenus, built near the end of the Kingdom of O’sine and located just outside the Port of Nine. Only Sine Vei are allowed to become priestesses there and they live mostly in a life of seclusion. There have always only been three W’Fa W’Ten priestesses. Education Vei children, being a rare occurrence, are usually doted on and raised by all the elders in their clan. They are predominantly educated in Belenus history, politics and how to wield Maey, though there has been a tendency more lately to also incorporate some crafting and combat training, especially amongst the Ele’me. Sine children are almost always trained for higher class positions, as political leaders, diplomats, priests and priestesses, or Maeyster professors. Ele’me, in a sense, get more choice of what they want to do – it has even become a tradition in the Modern Era for them to go on 2-10 year sabbaticals from their clans (though they always return in time for a Bloom) and wander throughout Belenus and Foundland, learning a trade. Culture Meals The Vei typically have one family meal a day, around dawn, as the last meal before they go to sleep. It is a heavily ritualized affair: All Vei come into the grand hall of their home and are served five courses in succession. By Vei tradition, the youngest of the family will serve, starting with the oldest first. Sizes for each of the courses are typically no larger than the size of a palm, and a lot of care is taken to decorate each plate exquisitely. It is said that each meal must appeal to all of the senses. Vei are almost consistently vegetarian. A typical meal for a typical Ele’me family would consist of: * The Flower Course: A flat plate of edible flowers and light, thinly sliced vegetables * The Soup Course: Served in a decorative lacquer or crystal cup, ladled by the youngest members of the family. * The Savory Course: Usually nuts and a root vegetable, carved, roasted and salted. Small pieces of Sunling bread have also come into fashion. * The Sweet Course: Usually consisting of a mix of fruits, berries and syrups * The Leaf Course: Green leaves, sometimes topped with creamy butters or oils. In cases where it is impossible to have the meal with a Vei family, they prefer to take their meals alone, as they eat far less than any other Citizen Species (and at a different hour). A Vei-on-the-go lunch box is usually separated into five compartments to replicate the five courses. Arts The Vei love decoration and pour that into all their paintings, sculpture and clothing. However, they generally prefer doing that fine work on objects others have made, rather than make objects themselves - in other words, they are decorators more than crafters. Throughout the years, they have decorated while Sunlings have made, and many Vei have found a fun past time in taking plain Sunling objects and making them ornate. Architecture Vei structures are created from a combination of Maey-based forest growth and crystallization, carved with delicate and elaborate patterns. They can build amazingly high yet solid structures using this combination, and usually the tallest buildings in any town have been built by Vei. Most clans start with a family home. For each new bloom, the Vei family creates a new addition to their residence. Some house lines from the First Epoch have mansions over a hundred rooms large. Many of these amazing structures were destroyed during the Rift, though some of them have survived into the Modern Era. As the Vei population has dwindled from its peak in the First Epoch, these great houses have long been taken over by other Citizen Species.